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Strategies & Market Trends : Telebras (TBH) & Brazil -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MGV who wrote (9125)	10/23/1998 1:23:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

Brazil sees telecom shares trading in U.S. in Nov Reuters, Friday, October 23, 1998 at 12:50 BRASILIA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Shares in the 12 recently privatized units of Brazilian telecommunications holding Telebras SA (SAO:TEL_.P) should begin trading in the United States in November, Communications Minister Luiz Carlos Mendonca de Barros said Friday. "There are two or three probable dates for the register (of the shares) in November," Mendonca de Barros told reporters.

To: MGV who wrote (9125)	10/23/1998 1:25:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Brazil's Cardoso eyes key Sao Paulo governor race Reuters, Friday, October 23, 1998 at 07:44 (Adds latest polls for election) By John Miller SAO PAULO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Brazilians in the powerful state of Sao Paulo will choose a governor on Sunday who may ultimately determine how quickly President Fernando Henrique Cardoso can put the nation's wobbly economy on firmer ground. Cardoso desperately needs an ally in the Sao Paulo governor's mansion when he sends unpopular austerity measures to Congress, where the governor can influence the outcome and pace of voting. Leading a population over twice the size of Chile's and a $300 billion economy nearly on a par with Argentina's, Sao Paulo state governors play a major role in national politics. Cardoso, who was re-elected Oct. 4 for a second term, has little time to streamline public finances before incessant capital flight forces a punishing currency devaluation in Latin America's top economy, economists say. But the close Sao Paulo race is so important that he has delayed announcing sweeping tax increases and budget cuts to avoid hampering his longtime friend, Mario Covas, in Sunday's vote. Covas, seeking a second consecutive term as governor, has made a comeback in recent polls. Late Thursday Globo Television showed a poll issued by private research firm IBOPE where Covas had overtaken his rival, right-wing populist Paulo Maluf. The survey gave the 68-year-old social democrat 45 percent of the vote, up seven points from last week -- ahead of the 42 percent accorded to Maluf, a former mayor of Sao Paulo city. A similar IBOPE poll 10 days ago put Covas at 38 percent against 45 percent for Maluf. The margin of error in both polls was 2.2 percentage points. Neither man drew a simple majority of the vote on Oct. 4, forcing the runoff. Numbering 34 million people and accounting for a third of Brazilian economic output, Sao Paulo is the nation's most wealthy state and its governor's race has eclipsed 12 others being contested on the same day. "Cardoso would rather give up all the other races if he were assured he could take Sao Paulo," said David Fleischer, a political scientist at the University of Brasilia. "The Sao Paulo governor has tremendous economic power and the state political machine can exact a lot of influence over other states, especially in the northeast," he said. Covas has won praise from economists for putting Sao Paulo's financial house in order by restructuring the state's massive debt, laying off over 100,000 civil servants and selling inefficient state businesses. But his achievements did not make for a populist campaign platform and he barely drew enough votes on Oct. 4 to make it to the second round. Maluf's tough, law-and-order talk and his impressive track record in delivering huge public works projects like subways and tunnels make the 67-year-old engineer a formidable political opponent. He is widely expected to launch a bid for the presidency in 2002 should he win the Sao Paulo governorship. Still, his bombastic style and involvement in a number of questionable deals as mayor of Sao Paulo -- even his supporters say "He steals, but gets things done" -- hurt him in a recent televised debate with Covas, analysts say. Earlier this year Maluf took his tough stance on crime a little too far when he made a prank telephone call to an emergency operator to show a journalist how slow police reaction time was. They arrived at his office in just eight minutes, demanding an explanation. While Maluf may not directly oppose Cardoso's austerity measures in Congress, any support will almost certainly come at a price to Cardoso's cash-strapped federal government. "Maluf would probably ask for more favorable terms in negotiating state debt and for more public works, money for things like transportation," said Guilhon Albuquerque, a political scientist at the University of Sao Paulo. Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service

To: MGV who wrote (9125)	10/23/1998 1:29:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

IMF, Brazil loan talks nearly over - IMF Reuters, Friday, October 23, 1998 at 09:47 RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Talks between the International Monetary Fund and Brazil over an expected $30 billion aid package for Brazil were nearly completed, but there was no set date for any announcement, an IMF spokesman said Friday. "The negotiations are heading toward a conclusion," the spokesman said, adding: "There is nothing forecast for next week...there is no date for an announcement." IMF Deputy Managing Director Stanley Fischer and Brazilian Finance Minister Pedro Malan were meeting to talk about Brazil's as yet unannounced plan to save an expected $20 billion next year and qualify for financial support. Fischer told reporters in Argentina Thursday that Brazil and the IMF might reach agreement over the loan as early as next week. The IMF spokesman declined to comment on reports that the IMF might provide half the expected $30 billion aid package. "The Brazilian government has said Brazil's financing needs were around $30 billion....how that would be divided up is something to be talked about later," he said. He also said the announcement of any agreement with the IMF would be made by the Brazilian government. Financial markets in Brazil and around the world are waiting for details of Brazil's austerity plan, which would pave the way for the IMF-led credit to see Latin America's biggest economy through its deep financial crisis. The World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and possibly the G-7 group of industrialized nations are also expected to take part in the package. A Russia-style currency collapse in Brazil, the world's ninth largest economy, might plunge the region into recession and hurt the world economy as well, economists have said. william.schomberg@reuters.com)) Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service

To: MGV who wrote (9125)	10/23/1998 1:34:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

Latam stocks leap as Brazil outlook brightens Reuters, Friday, October 23, 1998 at 07:41 By Michael Christie MEXICO CITY, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Most Latin American markets leaped on Thursday on hopes Brazil would soon get international credit lines to protect it from a currency meltdown while domestic news in Mexico and Venezuela gave an added shot of adrenaline to the bolsas there. With International Monetary Fund officials seeing a multibillion-dollar financing deal within two weeks, Brazil's Bovespa index in Sao Paulo closed 3.4 percent higher at 7603 points after a late surge. Brazil faced massive capital flight after investors thought it might have to follow Russia's lead in mid-August and devalue its currency, the real. But the heat on Brazil has since cooled after promises of loans from the IMF, which Director Stanley Fischer suggested could amount to $30 billion, and pledges by Brazil of measures to slash its 7.0 percent of gross domestic product deficit. "People are confident about the (fiscal) measures and the (loan) package that should be coming," a trader in Brazil said. The positive outlook, after months of uncertainty and turmoil that had put the global economy on the brink of a recession, also helped Argentine shares to end sharply higher. The MerVal index in Buenos Aires climbed 4.37 percent to close at 463.36 points with traders and analysts noting that IMF endorsement of any Brazilian financial plan must mean it was a good one. Likewise in Chile, where the IPSA index ended 2.83 percent higher at 68.72 points. In Mexico and Venezuela, local developments added spice to the cheer. In Mexico, the increasing likelihood of a deal over $60 billion in bad bank loans sent banking shares flying up to 10 percent higher, taking some of the pain off their near 80 percent plunge so far this year. News reports said the government and Congress were close to agreement on a package of discounts for small mortgage holders in return for turning into public debt the $60 billion of bank debt piled up in the Fobaproa fund since the 1995 peso crisis. The Fobaproa controversy, which has raged since March, allegations of money laundering in the United States and the general ill financial condition of the banks have slaughtered their share value this year. Mexico City's IPC share index gained 4.6 percent to end at 4025.99 points while the peso managed to close below 10 to the dollar for the first time since Sept. 2. In Venezuela, it was a poll showing a Yale-educated economist had pulled even with former coup leader Hugo Chavez in the country's presidential race which helped the battered Caracas stock exchange grab back some terrain. The IBC index added 2.1 percent to close at 3381.98 points after publication of the Mercanalisis survey, which gave Henrique Salas, the businessman's preferred candidate, 38 percent against 39 percent for Chavez. mexicocity.newsroom@reuters.com)) Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service